Abuse of the week
Each week, AIA will release specific egregious abuses involving the IRS and any negative consequences on American taxpayers. It is our hope that by highlighting such abuses, structural reforms will be instituted to clean up accountability issues within the agency.
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Former IRS employee Deceives Elderly Woman out of Life Savings
A disturbing case involving a former IRS employee who defrauded an elderly woman out of her life savings raises urgent questions about IRS culture and the need for changing any negative learned behaviors of its former employees.
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The Same IRS Employees Who Enforce the Tax Code Are Evading It Themselves
AIA spotlights a troubling issue: current and former IRS employees, many of them repeat offenders, owe nearly $46 million in back taxes to the federal government.
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IRS Civil Penalty Administration “Often Unfair, Discouraging Tax Compliance”
AIA highlights a shocking report from the National Taxpayer Advocate, which introduces what it considers to be the “most serious problems encountered by taxpayers.”
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IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers are Dysfunctional and Discourage Tax Compliance
A February 2025 TIGTA report confirmed what we already knew about IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs): taxpayers across the country suffer from an inadequate, dysfunctional service system.
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IRS Initiated Direct File Development Before Authorization
AIA highlights a former IRS employee who, uncoerced, admitted via blog post that the IRS Direct File team began developing the platform well before receiving the authorization to do so.
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Taxpayer Advocate Service Releases Mid-Year Report, Cites Persistent Issues
The Taxpayer Advocate Service reported the prevalence of issues that have plagued the IRS for years. Even greater issues will arise ahead of 2026 if key reforms are not instituted.
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TIGTA Highlights IRS Failures Amidst Crypto Crackdown
It’s clear to AIA that the IRS has crypto in its crosshairs. The IRS is now taking targeted actions against crypto and other digital assets. This comes after the IRS pushed for Coinbase user data, which the Supreme Court rejected.
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TIGTA Highlights Millions in Improper IRS Payments on Legacy Systems
A recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) uncovered millions in improper payments made by the IRS for legacy systems. Much went towards outdated computer systems, programming languages, or application software.
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How should the IRS be using AI?
Last year, Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) opened an inquiry into the IRS’s use of artificial intelligence to monitor Americans' financial information—without a warrant or legal process.
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IRS Million Dollar Mistake
This week, AIA spotlights an instance of reckless negligence, that caused undue harm to an innocent family in New Jersey.
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Small Business Growth Stifled by IRS Tax Uncertainty
This week, AIA highlights a new report from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) detailing how IRS tax enforcement uncertainty stifles small business growth, investment, and job creation.
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AIA and TIGTA Amplify the Need for Taxpayer Advocate Centers to Address Persistent Issues with Inoperable Kiosks
This week, AIA is again shining a spotlight on an issue we have raised since our inception. On August 8, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) released a report titled “Lack of Contract Oversight Led to Inoperable Kiosks at Taxpayer Assistance Centers (TACs).” The report reinforces AIA’s call to repair all broken kiosks at TACs nationwide.
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Direct File Crusaders Continue Fight for Its Revival and Abuse
This week, AIA highlights a case of particular hubris from three former IRS employees who brazenly seek the revival of the Direct File tool, recently eliminated by President Trump.
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Telephone Service Latest IRS Pain Point Impeding Taxpayer Services
A recent report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that while the IRS reported high levels of phone service during tax season, those metrics don’t reflect the full taxpayer experience, especially outside peak months. Many calls went unanswered, and taxpayers who were passed through experienced extremely long wait times.
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IRS Gains 'Powerful New Tool' to Evade Accountability, Gorsuch Warns
A recent Supreme Court decision in Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Zuch has handed the IRS a troubling new mechanism to sidestep accountability, according to Justice Neil Gorsuch’s dissent. The case, stemming from a 2012 dispute over Jennifer Zuch’s 2010 tax return, highlights how the IRS can exploit jurisdictional loopholes to dismiss taxpayer challenges.
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IRS Spent $40M on Outdated Computer Systems
The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) found that the IRS has been stalling progress on a decade-old plan to consolidate and eliminate outdated computer systems. In 2024 alone, the IRS spent almost $40 million on these systems, though the IRS has allegedly been developing its modernization project since 2015.
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Rep. Grothman Brings Restorative Action to the IRS
On September 15, 2025, Representative Glenn Grothman (WI-06) introduced the Fair and Accountable IRS Reviews Act to fight back against this predatory IRS practice: “Taxpayers deserve fair treatment and strong safeguards against unjust penalties.”
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Careless IRS Blunders Harm Honest Taxpayers
This past week, the IRS admitted to sending penalty notices to taxpayers “erroneously.” Over the past few months, many Americans have received notices claiming that they owed money for underpaid estimated taxes. When many taxpayers confirmed that their taxes were properly accounted for, the IRS acknowledged that its systems were processing penalty notices incorrectly.
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